Since Spring 2024, The Patman Center has welcomed 129 distinguished speakers from across the political spectrum. From Republican to Democratic elected officials to legislative staff and campaign professionals, our events bring real-world insights from leaders shaping politics today.
Viquar Ahmad, Special Assistant to President Biden and Chief U.S. Financial Officer
James Aldrete, President of MAP Communications
Trent Ashby, State Representative (R-Lufkin)
James Barragán, Anchor for Texas Capital Tonight
Mike Baselice, President and CEO of Baselice and Associates
Brencia Berry, Former Political Director at the Democratic National Committee
David Berteau, President and Chief Executive Officer, Professional Services Council
Jane Bland, Texas Supreme Court Justice
The Honorable Dennis Bonnen, former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
Debbie Bresette, Founder, Bastrop County Cares
Patrick Bresette, Executive Director, Children’s Defense Fund
Andy Brown, Travis County Judge
Mack Brown, Former Head Coach of The Texas Longhorns Football Team
John Bucy III, State Representative (D-Austin)
Darcy Caballero, Government Relations and Political Director at Planned Parenthood and Texas Votes
Greg Casar, U.S. Representative (D-Austin)
Joaquin Castro, U.S. Representative (D-San Antonio)
Liz Chadderdon, Former President and Creative Director at Chadderdon Lestingi Creative Strategies
Marjorie Clifton, Media Commentator
Sheryl Cole, State Representative (D-Austin)
Jessica Colon, Republican Strategist
Victoria Neave Criado, State Representative (D-Dallas)
Matthew Cornelius, Managing Director, Federal Industry at Workday
John Cornyn, U.S. Senator (R-Texas)
Lisa Davis, Austin Police Chief
The Honorable Charlie Dent, Former U.S. Representative (R-PA)
Manann Donoghoe, Senior Research Associate, The Brookings Institution
Matthew Dowd, Chief Strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 presidential campaign and former ABC News political analyst
John Drogin, Former Campaign Manager for Senator Ted Cruz
Robert Duncan, Chief of Staff, Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows
Former Chancellor of Texas Tech University System
Sarah Eckhardt, State Senator (D-Austin)
Steve Eichenauer, Partner, Public Strategies Washington Inc.
John Egan, Partner and COO of Murphy Nasica
Theresa Gage, Former Vice President of External Affairs and Corporate Communications, ERCOT
Lyssette Galvan, Public Policy Director, National Alliance for Mental Illness - Texas
Manny Garcia, Former Executive Director of the Texas Democratic Party
Josè Garza, Travis County District Attorney
Elliot Gerson, Executive Vice President, Policy Programs and International partners at the Aspen Institute
Craig Goldman, State Representative (R-Fort Worth)
The Honorable Larry Gonzales, Former Texas State Representative
Tony Gonzales, U.S. Representative (R-San Antonio)
Claudia Gordon, Chair of the National Council on Disability
Senior Accessibility Strategy Partner at T-Mobile
The Honorable Sherri Greenberg, Former Texas State Representative
Assistant Dean, The LBJ School of Public Affairs
Elliott Griffin, Former Chief of Staff in the Texas Capitol
Roland Gutierrez, State Senator (D-San Antonio)
Karen Brooks Harper, Senior Writer, Dallas Morning News
Vincent Harris, CEO of Harris Media
Brian Harrison, State Representative (R-Midlothian)
The Honorable Nathan Hecht, Former Chief Justice of The Texas Supreme Court
Glenn Hegar, Texas Comptroller
Heather Higginbottom, Head of Research, Policy, and Insights for Corporate Responsibility, JPMorgan Chase
Gina Hinojosa, State Representative (D-Austin)
Rachel Hoff, Policy Director, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
Laura Hernandez Holmes, Former Campaign Manager for US Representative Greg Casar
The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, Former U.S. Senator (R-Texas) and former Ambassador to NATO
The Honorable Wallace Jefferson, Former Chief Justice of The Texas Supreme Court
Brad Johnson, Senior Reporter and Managing Editor, The Texan
Julie Johnson, State Representative (D-Farmer’s Branch)
Nathan Johnson, State Senator (D-Dallas)
Renard Johnson, El Paso Mayor
Rob Johnson, Former Campaign Manager for Rick Perry for Governor and Dade Phelan for Re-Election
Periklis Karoutas, Managing Director at Legislative Solutions
The Honorable Ron Kirk, Former U.S. Trade Ambassador
Melissa Lazarin, Senior Program Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Jeff Leach, State Representative (R-Plano)
Ben Leffler, Chief of Staff, Austin City Councilman Ryan Atler
Kevin Lindley, Former Campaign Manager for Governor Rick Perry and Senator Creighton
Daniel Lubetzky, Founder of KIND Snacks and Builders
Sean Mason, Deputy Director, Texas Office of State-Federal Relations
Bryan Mares, Government Relations Director, National Association of Social Workers-Texas
Michael McCaul, U.S. Representative (R-Austin)
Ali McGuigan, Manager of Government Relations, National Grid
Parag Mehta, Former Managing Director and President, JPMC PolicyCenter, JPMorganChase
Ryan Micik, Political Research and Communications Consultant
Mayes Middleton, State Senator (R-Galveston)
Linda Moore, CEO of TechNet
Co-Chair of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at UT-Austin
Mike Morath, Texas Commissioner on Education
Jennifer Naedler, Campaign Fundraiser
Ron Nirenberg, Mayor of San Antonio
Nate Norris, Director, Legislative Affairs, American Water Works Association
Tyler Norris, Republican Strategist
Beto O’Rourke, Former U.S. Representative
Mattie Parker, Fort Worth Mayor
Joey Parr, Partner and Creative Director at Murphy Nasica and Associates
Tony Pipa, Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Center for Sustainable Development, The Brookings Institution
The Honorable Mike Pence, Former Vice President of the United States of America
Dade Phelan, State Representative (R-Beaumont)
Scott Pollard, Former Director of Advance for The Texas Democratic Party
Former Advance Associate for The White House under President Obama
Katie Popp, Workplace Consultant and former Employee of the Great Places to Work Institute
Dan Porterfield, President of the Aspen Institute
Joe Pounder, Founder of BullPen Strategy Group
Cesar Prieto, Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio)
Christina Tzintzun Ramirez, President of NextGen America
Adjunct Professor, LBJ School of Public Affairs
Sam Robles, Former Campaign Manager for Roland Gutierrez for U.S. Senate
Karl Rove, Former Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush and former Deputy White House Chief of Staff
Chip Roy, U.S. Representative (R-Austin)
Emmy Ruiz, former Senior Advisor to President Biden and Director of The Office of Political Strategy and Outreach
Derek Ryan, Founder of Ryan Data and Research
Javier Salazar, Bexar County Sheriff
Jenifer Sarver, Communications Consultant and Lecturer at Moody College of Communication
Deirdre Schifeling, Chief Political and Advocacy Officer at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Larry Schooler, Former City of Austin Manager for Public Engagement and Assistant Professor of Practice, Moody College of Communication
Nirav Shah, Chief of Staff, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard
Bill Shute, Executive Director, LBJ Washington Center
Evan Smith, Founder and Former CEO, The Texas Tribune and Professor of Practice, The LBJ School of Public Affairs
Jillian Smith, Legislative Assistant, Congressman Lloyd Doggett
Jason Stanford, Democratic Strategist
Michele Stockwell, President of BPC Action, the policy engagement side of the Bipartisan Policy Center
Joe Straus, Former Speaker, Texas House of Representatives
Nicki Sullivan, Associate Director, Office of The President, The Brookings Institution
Zoe Swarzenski, Project Manager, The Brookings Institution
Gretchen Tietje, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State
Tariq Thowfeek, Co-Founder of Seeker Strategies
Mykle Tomlinson, Campaign Manager and Founder of Y Strategy
Marcus Towns, Director of Member Services and Coalitions, Committee on Foreign Affairs at U.S. House of Representatives
Jaclyn Uresti, Partner at Philips Uresti Meachum Partners
MaryEllen Veliz, Political Operative at DS Political
Savin Ven Johnson, Former Task Force Leader, FEMA Covid-19 Vaccination Force
Cliff Walker, Co-founder of Seeker Strategies
The Honorable Mimi Walters, Former U.S. Representative (R-California)
Kirk Watson, Austin Mayor
David Weinberg, Staff Director, Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee
JoDee Winterhof, Senior Vice President, Policy and Political Affairs, The Human Rights Campaign
John Wittman, Partner at PLUS Communications
Taryn Woody, Professional Staff Member, United States House Armed Services Committee
Gene Wu, State Representative (D-Houston)
Nancy Zdunkewicz, Pollster and Founder of Z to A Research